Kiran Edwards, marketing specialist for OUM

Chiropractor Program, Brentwood, Tenn

Kiran Edwards, marketing specialist for OUM Chiropractor Program, Brentwood, Tenn, talks to Chiropractic Products about the company’s mission to provide chiropractors with top-notch malpractice insurance.

How does OUM protect chiropractors from malpractice suits?
OUM’s claims specialists and attorneys are experienced in chiropractic litigation and work diligently to defend and uphold its policyholders’ practices and reputations. OUM’s claims examiners and attorneys work personally with its policyholders through each individual claim to ensure that their best interest is always the top priority. To make well-informed decisions about claims, OUM enlists the expertise of our independent claims consultant—a practicing chiropractor—to review every new claim. Our independent claims consultant not only summarizes the treatment and injuries of each claim, but also provides the strengths and weaknesses he sees and how the weaknesses can be overcome.

Describe the insurance policy OUM offers.
The OUM Chiropractor Program provides protection by offering a broad, “scope of practice” malpractice policy that defends its policyholders against malpractice claims, even if the charges are fraudulent or unsubstantiated. Since OUM prides itself on providing a quality policy for an affordable price, many discounts are available. These discounts include, but are not limited to, new practitioner, risk management, and part-time.

What benefits does OUM provide?
In addition to a “scope of practice” malpractice policy, OUM policyholders receive Stature, our semiannual risk management and chiropractic issues publication. In the Policyholder Spotlight section of Stature, we recognize our policyholders for their achievements through the healing art of chiropractic. We also offer an annual home-study risk-management course that can be ordered through Data Trace. OUM recently developed the OUM Chiropractic Advisory Board, which is a panel of policyholders that advises OUM on the most recent chiropractic issues, reviews OUM’s publication for content and clarity, and contributes to the articles published in Stature. Through our Web site, our policyholders are now able to pay invoices, print a certificate of insurance, add certificate holders, and download sample risk-management forms.

What makes OUM different from other malpractice insurance programs?
In view of the fact that OUM has been an integral component of the chiropractic malpractice insurance industry for 22 years, our longevity and consistency in the industry demonstrates that we are committed to the profession and have no plans to leave the market, unlike other insurance programs that have discontinued chiropractic coverage in recent years. In fact, we strive to promote the advancement of the chiropractic profession because our sole focus is on chiropractic. As the profession advances and new modalities are introduced in the chiropractic profession, we educate ourselves about these changes and consistently evaluate our policy to ensure that our policyholders are able to practice with confidence.

What is the history of OUM?
The OUM Chiropractor Program began its journey in the chiropractic malpractice insurance industry in 1983 through its headquarters in Bellevue, Wash. In 2001, OUM moved its headquarters from Bellevue to a corporate office in Brentwood, Tenn. In the course of the past 22 years, OUM has gained market share and is now recognized as one of the largest and most prominent malpractice programs in the nation. The OUM Chiropractor Program is underwritten by PACO Assurance Company and PICA, both rated A- Excellent by AM Best, an insurance analyst. CP